Everything you need to know about Chippendale furniture Everything you need to know about Chippendale furniture 1 comment Chippendale is a style of furniture that became popular towards the end of the 18th century, designed by English cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale – after whom the style is named. Chippendale furniture is as popular as ever today, helping people create a period elegance in their homes. If you want to learn more about the popular style of furniture and its origins, read on. Who was Thomas Chippendale? Thomas Chippendale was born in the early 1700s but little more is known of his early life until he married in 1748. A few years later, he moved to the edge of Covent Garden and set up home, as well as establishing workshops where he made furniture. In 1754, Chippendale published a collection of furniture designs called Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, which was enormously well-received by the public at the time. He was elected to the Society of Arts in 1759 and partnered with upholsterer James Rannie for a number of years until Rannie’s death, when Chippendale recruited his clerk Thomas Haig.

Chippendale married again in 1777 after the death of his first wife in 1772, and died in 1779 from tuberculosis. Styles of Chippendale furniture The Chippendale style is often described as being an anglicised type of Rococo, and Rococo is one of the styles Chippendale encompasses, along with Gothic and Chinese. Rococo Chippendale furniture often displays French influence, with chairs based on Louis XV designs, although usually less ostentatious. The ribbonback chair with a broad seat and cupid’s bow-style back rail is perhaps the most famous Chippendale design. Gothic Chippendale furniture is characterised by s-shaped curves and pointed arches in the backs of chairs, while Gothic bookcases were triangular at the top and had wooden glazing bars to hold the glass in place. Chinese Chippendale creations often included cabinets and shelves for china, and typically features pagoda-style pediments and glazing bars arranged in a fretwork design. This fretwork was also used on the edges of tea tables and on the backs and legs of chairs, often coated with lacquer.

Modern Chippendale furniture Chippendale furniture continues to be popular in modern times as the furnishings are not only attractive and help to create an upmarket, classic feel in the home, they are also hardwearing and long-lasting. While original furniture from the 1700s is hard to come by – especially in a well-preserved form, you can invest in replica pieces made from solid mahogany that is virtually undetectable as a modern equivalent. Mahogany is a reddish-brown hardwood that is extremely durable and ideal for carving. It resists wood rot and can be transformed into items of furniture that, with little maintenance, will last for years. You’ll find bedside tables, writing desks and dressing tables among the Chippendale furniture available, and simply need to wipe the furnishings down with a damp cloth to remove dust that has settled. To keep your mahogany Chippendale furniture in good condition, avoid placing it near to sunlight, as this can cause the wood’s colour to fade. Similarly, furnishings should not stand near to radiators or fireplaces. Avoid placing hot dishes directly on your Chippendale furniture, and use coasters lined underneath with felt, as other materials may scratch or damage the wood.

You can also add extra shine to your furniture by giving it a regular polish when the pieces are beginning to look a little dull. Chippendale--The Royalty of Antique Furniture The Early Years But in 1754, Mr. Chippendale, as he was known in London, published his detailed collection, Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, a portfolio of fashionable English furniture design templates and one of the first furniture design books. In it Chippendale adapted existing design styles to the fashion of the mid-18th century. Both makers and sellers of furniture rushed to purchase it, making Chippendale a household name. And so pervasive was the influence of his book that the name of Chippendale is often indiscriminately applied to all mid-18th century furniture. Chippendale created his Director as a catalogue from which his wealthy patrons could choose particular elements for their furniture, which would then be custom made for them in his workshop. It contained 161 plates, reflecting many elements of the Rococo, Chinese, Gothic and Neoclassical styles. Publication of the Director clearly had a stimulating effect on Chippendaleï¿½s career since all his known commissions date from after its publication.

However, the Chippendale style didnï¿½t remain within the confines of the Chippendale workshops very long. So popular were the designs with the wealthy class that soon other furniture makers were using Gentleman and Cabinet-Makerï¿½s Director as a pattern book for their shops, too. In 1754, the same year as the publication of his Director, Chippendale moved to spacious premises in the fashionable paved thoroughfare of St. Martinï¿½s Lane which his firm occupied for the next 60 years. He then formed a partnership with James Rannie, a Scottish merchant, who injected capital into the business. They employed between 40 and 50 artisans. And while the notes in his Director showed Chippendale possessed a sound practical knowledge of timbers and craftsmanship, he most likely, at this stage in his career, would have been responsible for design and management, instead of working at the bench. A versatile man, he was willing to design and supply wallpapers, carpets, fire grates, decorative ormolu, chimney pieces, even complete room schemes, in addition to furniture.

As well as equipping State Apartments with luxurious ensembles, his firm regularly supplied routine articles for the servantsï¿½ rooms and domestic offices. He offered a complete house furnishing service, undertook repairs, removals, hired out furniture, compiled inventories and was even prepared to direct and furnish funerals for respected customers. Fine Woods Make the Difference Chippendale style furniture was generally made of mahogany, imported from the West Indies. Though cabinetmakers occasionally used veneers, theyï¿½re not typical of this style. Instead they preferred using solid wood to accommodate the elaborate carving found in this style. And they upholstered the newly introduced camel-back sofas in rich brocades, velvets, and damasks. While cabinetmakers used Cuban, Dominican and Honduran mahogany during the latter part of the 18th Century, the finest was Cuban, a dense, heavy wood with a close grain. When they carved it, minute white flecks would appear in the wood. Honduran mahogany is lighter in weight and color. The mahoganies from the Dominican Republic and Jamaica fell somewhere between Cuban and Honduran in quality.

Flame mahogany refers to the character of the grain, obtained by using the first branch or crotch of the tree. Another much sought-after grain was mottled, often referred to as "plum pudding" mahogany. Nevertheless, in the Chippendale period in America, Connecticut cabinetmakers used cherry more often than mahogany. During the same period, furniture makers in Bermuda used local cedar which had an orangish hue. Throughout America, furniture makers used softwoods like white pine for the main carcase of furniture, but in England, they favored hardwood such as oak. By mixing and melding the extravagant Rococo style with the Gothic and Chinese styles, Chippendale came up with a hybrid that displaced the more angular Queen Anne style. From the 1760's, the neoclassical work of architect Robert Adam, with whom he worked on several large projects, influenced him greatly. Chippendale's Signature Formï¿½The Cabriole Leg He extensively employed the Queen Anne-style cabriole leg.

While there are six different basic Chippendale style legsï¿½the lionï¿½s paw, the ball and claw, the late Chippendale, the Marlborough, the club and the spadeï¿½he based three of them on the cabriole shape which is an elegant, serpentine style ending in a distinctive foot. These include the lionï¿½s paw, which ends with a lion paw shaped foot, the club, which is a simple round foot and the ball and claw, which looks like an eagle talon holding a ball. The remaining leg styles are straightï¿½the Marlborough being a plain, square leg, the spade a tapered round leg often with a square or trapezoid foot, and the late Chippendale having a square leg with a square foot. Chippendaleï¿½s Gothic and Chinese influenced designs had straight or tapering legs, tracery carving and fret and lattice work. Block-front furnitureï¿½where the center front recedes in a shallow concave curve between slightly convex endsï¿½seems to have been unique to North America. Chippendale never illustrated furniture of this type in his Director.

Furniture connoisseurs believe that this style originated the area of Boston, Massachusetts, and assumed a Chippendale character. Another characteristically American furniture form was the highboy. English cabinetmakers abandoned the chest-on-stand, of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, for the chest-on-chest where the lower section is supported on low bracket feet. Furniture makers supported the highboy, known back then as a high chest of drawers, on high cabriole legs, the top being surmounted by a swan-neck broken pediment sometimes known in America as a "bonnet." The center of the pediment was usually embellished with a cartouche showing the familyï¿½s crest, except in American pieces this is smaller. It was customary to display these elaborately carved pieces in the drawing room, even though they were designed to hold personal belongings. The lowboy, or the lower part of the highboy, was usually elaborately embellished with carving and sometimes stood by itself. Chippendale chairs often exhibit features of Queen Anne or early Georgian furniture. Often, American Chippendale chairs had Queen Anne back-splats or kidney-shaped seats.

American cabinetmakers used doweled through tenon construction, even in sophisticated furniture, up to the late 18th century. In England this feature had died out in all but country furniture by the early 18th century. Of course, there are exceptions, so that identification is dependent upon more subtle points such as the less extreme line of the American back leg as compared with the English examples which are less vertical. However, in America, cabriole legs tended to be somewhat curlier than in England. Chinese Chippendale Another style of furnishing thatï¿½s often associated with the name of Chippendale is the so-called "Chinese Chippendale" or Chinoiserie, which remained immensely popular, especially for bedrooms, despite the rise of Neoclassicism. Japanning, or painted decoration sometimes imitating lacquer, became the last word in chic. While he based his work upon the general Queen Anne and Georgian characteristics of sober design and thoroughly fine construction, retaining many of the early 18th-century details, Chippendale introduced many other forms.

Though collectors identify his name with the extensive variety of chair designsï¿½from geometrical to Chinese, lattice, or sumptuously carved and interlaced forms, his workshopï¿½s output also included desks, mirror frames, hanging bookshelves, settees, china cabinets and bookcasesï¿½featuring fretted cornices and latticework glazed doorsï¿½and tables with delicately fretted galleries and distinctive cluster-column legs of Gothic inspiration. Noted Makers of Chippendale Furniture Records dating from before the American Revolution prove that there were many skilled craftsmen in the country. In Boston, for example, there were 150 known cabinetmakers, while Philadelphia had equally as many. In the South, craftsmen-slaves produced good work. Itï¿½s not surprising, therefore, to discover that many of the cabinetmakers who produced American Chippendale furniture werenï¿½t of British descent. George Gostelowe who worked in Philadelphia was Swedish while Andrew Gautier was a Huguenot.

Some of the most remarkable makers of Chippendale furniture were Quakers, for example the Goddards and the Townsends of Newport, Rhode Island Island, and William Savery of Philadelphia, Pennyslvania. In the history of American colonial furniture, the Townsends and the Goddards are truly remarkable for the quality of their work and for the number of them of different generations who made furnitureï¿½altogether some 20 individuals from three generations of the Townsends, including Christopher and his sons John and Job and his grandsons Job junior and Edmund were well known, while of the Goddards the best known was John. Reproductions It was the practice in the mid-18th Century to purchase a finely made piece of furniture or decorative object and then have copies made at a lower price to increase its number. These, as with modern reproductions, of the Chippendale style were often hand carved but donï¿½t have the depth and detail of carving that genuine Chippendale furniture has. Nye recommended that collectors look for evidence of craftsmanshipï¿½hand planing, hand sawing, handmade nails, as well as shrinkage in the wood.

In addition, reproduction pieces will have been constructed of younger mahogany which isnï¿½t as dense and is grainier than the slow-growth wood used to make 18th-century pieces. High Prices for Quality Thomas Chippendale, whoï¿½s furniture designs today command stratospheric prices, had to, on more than one occasion, fight for payment on his commissions. Today, collectors should be wary of any piece of Chippendale furniture that doesnï¿½t have a four to six-figure price tag, especially for pieces made in Philadelphia, according to Nye. "If itï¿½s not appropriately priced, the dealer knows that itï¿½s not 18th century," said Nye. "A reputable dealer will give a written guarantee that the piece is authentic and the guarantee will include a detailed description of the piece and its provenance. Watch out for the ï¿½too-good-to-be-trueï¿½ price." Nye also noted that while the market is strong for exceptional items, many Chippendale pieces are undocumented and unsigned, so collectors need to look at form and aesthetic attributes.

"Many American cabinetmakers borrowed liberally from Chippendaleï¿½s designs, so their pieces werenï¿½t as pure as English ones," he added. The Chippendale Society, founded in England in 1963, owns an important collection of furniture and documents, usually on display at Temple Newsam House, Leeds, England. Thomas Chippendale Style Furniture and Decor - Home Decor Home Decor > 18th Century Furniture > Thomas Chippendale Style Furniture and Decor Thomas Chippendale Style Furniture and Decor The Opulent Rococo-Style Furniture and Decor of Thomas Chippendale's The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker's Director The Rococo Furniture of Thomas Chippendale A gilded, carved Thomas Chippendale mirror, a perfect example of the level of detail his pieces exhibited. Thomas Chippendale’s groundbreaking Rococo-style pierced mahogany side chair. A classic Chippendale upholstered sofa, with straight legs and rails, and gently curving arms. It’s a household name today: Thomas Chippendale .

Known primarily for his iconic chairs —especially the mahogany dining chairs in the Chinese, Gothic and Rococo “ribband-back” styles—Chippendale ran a shop of skilled artisans in London and famously published The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker’s Director, a complete catalog of every type of furniture. Although not the only top-notch designer in London at the time, Thomas Chippendale managed to achieve immortality—and have most of Mid-Georgian furniture attributed to his style—by being the first to publish a book of this magnitude. Shop the iconic style of Thomas Chippendale at One Kings Lane. The book included plates of designs for: • four-poster carved and fabric-covered beds • consoles and tables • chairs , daybeds, sofas and upholstered settees • chair-back settees • commodes • sconces His mastery of “Gothic, Chinese and Modern Taste”—modern being his version of Rococo—was spread via his widely published pattern book, The Director. The book was filled with hundreds of ‘plates’ explaining the style and construction of various types of furniture, from mantels and bookcases to armchairs and his iconic camelback sofas.

His fretwork is perhaps the most noticeable aspect of Chippendale designs—and the most copied today. Noting that books published on the subject of travel to China had increased interest in the Eastern style, and the popularity of Horace Walpole’s ‘Strawberry Hill Gothic,’ Chippendale fluidly incorporated both of these styles into his interpretation of Rococo—and the results were adored. Illustration of a classic Chippendale kneehole desk, with a detail of the batwing-style brass mounts. Note the lion’s paw feet and decorative aprons. Entire books have been written studying the Chippendale library of design, but it is perhaps his dining chairs that are the most famous, and show the greatest breadth of his work. Read more about Thomas Chippendale’s famous dining chairs.

Chippendale furniture is characterized by: • elaborate batwing brass mounts and hardware • dining chairs that immediately dropped the curve of the Queen Anne chair, with outward-flaring straight uprights and a separate, horizontal yoke top rail • his straight and tapered style legs, known as a Marlborough leg style leg (front legs only; the back two legs are almost always straight) • club feet, with a pad or base, or guttae feet (an ancient Roman ornament) • cane seats and ‘japanning’ Chippendale also made “French-style” upholstered armchairs, or fauteuils, a chair that never went out of style throughout the Georgian period, and was often heavily carved and gilded. Similarly, his daybeds were like long extensions of these seats. Chippendale Style in America (1750-1785) A modern, Chippendale-style camelback settee typical of the Federal Period in America. Thomas Chippendale’s book was a chief source of information for American chair-makers. Rather than having to rely on importing chairs to understand the style, The Director gave them unparalleled instruction, and revved up American craftsmanship.

American Chippendale chairs have wonderful proportion and lines, often use less carved ornament, and are clearly distinct from English Chippendale chairs. Regional distinctions showed through as well, as in American Queen Anne chairs , right down to which town or shop created which chair. Still, little is known of southern Chippendale designs, but Charleston was credited with a version that was unique, with gilded accents. Although Chippendale doesn’t make much reference to wood in his book, it’s clear through the intricate carving that mahogany was preferred. Mahogany wasn’t new in America, but its popular use with American Chippendale chairs nudged walnut out of the spotlight. In 1765, Mrs. Benjamin Franklin alluded to this trend, writing that she had moved her “old black walnut chairs” to a lesser-used bedroom. There was also only one instance of a claw-and-ball foot in The Director, but in America, it was a popular motif. Rare, transitional chairs were created in the colonies, including interesting examples of side chairs with Chippendale-style top rails, but Queen Anne-style splats, or, conversely, cabriole legs and a curved back rail, but a splat with a pierced Chippendale design.

Often, this mix of styles can be credited to the commissioner’s particular tastes, and showed that colonial craftsmen felt free to vary any aspects they wanted. Another American innovation was a Chippendale-style ladder-back chair—nothing seen in The Director, of course—that was used personally by a signer of the Declaration of Independence in his Maryland home. Gothic touches—a Chippendale sub-style—were also interpreted in America, and seen on the Speaker’s chair at Independence Hall. And Benjamin Franklin invented a Chippendale-style upholstered armchair with a seat that flipped down, transforming the chair into a ladder, to reach books in his library. Chippendale remained popular in America into the 1790s. The style survived both the American Revolution and the eventual political break with England, proving that its popularity outweighed its associations with English tastes.

Chippendale School Students Learn to Make Britain’s National Chair, the ‘Windsor Chair’ - Chippendale School Chippendale School Students Learn to Make Britain’s National Chair, the ‘Windsor Chair’ Posted on June 14, 2013 Tom Thackray, the UK’s leading Windsor chair maker, has just spent a week teaching woodworking students at the Chippendale International School of Furniture how to make Windsor chairs. He first met Anselm when he was running his Thomas Chippendale School in South Carolina then Oregon, and has been coming to Scotland to the Chippendale School for the last 15 years. Tom introduces the students to the Windsor chair, Britain’s national chair, at his short lectures on their history. During the week, the students make a stick-back Windsor chair. Using local ash, they learn to turn, bend and drill the wood. One of the most challenging stages is drilling the holes. “The Chippendale School is the best furniture school in Britain. I’ve worked in America and Japan but this is the only cabinet making college in the UK where I run my Windsor chair making course. “I can’t believe the diversity of woodworking techniques they learn here.

The students learn a lot here and there’s a wonderful mix of different cultures. Some of the work they do is stunning, but they can only do it because of the quality of the woodworking teaching staff .” A Windsor chair is built with a solid wooden seat into which the chair-back and legs are round-tenoned, or pushed into drilled holes (source: Wikipedia). The seats of Windsor chairs were often carved into a saddle shape for comfort. Traditionally, the legs and uprights were usually turned on a pole lathe. The back and sometimes the arm pieces (if there any) are formed from steam bent pieces of wood. There are seven distinctive forms of Windsor chair. Steven Langton and Tom Thackray (right), the Windsor Chair tutors Talking about the origins of Windsor chairs, Tom says: “There are no certainties, but it’s thought that the early form of the chair in the sixteenth century was just a stool made from a plank of wood, then some people decided to put backs on them. “From about the 17th century and early 18th century towns in the Thames Valley around Buckinghamshire specialised in making Windsor chairs, mostly using beech.

High Wycombe was the centre and Windsor became the distribution hub which served London in particular. It was a chair for the masses; millions were made in huge workshops where framers would put all the individually crafted pieces together. “The story is that the chairs were stacked high on wagons; the roads were so rutted, the driver could go to sleep and the cart followed the ruts like train tracks! The popularity of the Windsor chair spread even wider in the 19th century when the railways filled their wagons with them. “There are also records of ‘Wyndsor’ chairs being taken by immigrants to New England in the US.” Margaret Thomson being assisted by Tom Thackray It is common to find American Windsors made in the 18th century that contain pine, bass or tulip poplar for the seat. Hardwoods such as maple are stiff so were used for the undercarriage. Oak, ash, and hickory all rive (split) and steam bend nicely, and therefore work well for the spindles. “One myth about the source of the name is that George III sheltered in a cottage when he was out hunting.

He admired the owner’s chairs so much that he ordered some for his palace, and they became known as Windsor chairs. “We know that Thomas Chippendale added legs to the chair, similar to Queen Anne legs, and a back, which became known as the Chippendale splat. Fancy woods like mahogany, yew and walnut were used and Windsor chairs became popular with the rich who liked to use them in their kitchens.” Tom Thackray has a small woodworking school and workshop in Doncaster in Yorkshire where he teaches Windsor chair making. He was originally a joiner before making miniature Windsor chairs in 1972. His son-in-law, Steven Langton, who has been working for him for 32 years and is a “fantastic craftsman”, will be taking over the workshop. “Steven is an excellent bench joiner and Windsor chair framer,” says Tom. “Originally a miner, he then worked as a cabinet maker on boats. He’s a hard worker and always in the workshop.” Concluding on the Chippendale School, Tom says: “The furniture school’s absolutely brilliant. If students need anything like tools, Anselm orders them express delivery for next day delivery.

It wouldn’t be possible to do that if the school wasn’t private.” Christopher Paget working on his Windsor chair Tom Thackray can be contacted via tomthackray@btinternet.com Latest posts Identifying Chippendale Style Antique Furniture By Pamela Wiggins Updated October 13, 2016. American furniture crafted in the Chippendale style from about 1750-1780 was named after London cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale's work. He became quite famous in his day after publishing The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, a guide for constructing a variety of furniture pieces, several times between 1754 and 1762. Important pieces crafted by Chippendale can sell in the millions, but this style has been revived many times since the 1700s and can be found in a variety of price ranges. American furniture made in the Chippendale style, which falls within the Colonial period, was conservative in comparison to English designs from the same time frame, according to American Furniture: Tables, Chairs, Sofas and Beds by Marvin D. Schwartz.

Chippendale is closely related to the earlier Queen Anne style, and it is important to remember that elements in furniture designs sometimes overlapped as tastes changed from period to period. Thus, you may find a piece that falls into the Chippendale category overall, but has a Queen Anne element or two as well. continue reading below our video 5 Home Accents & Accessories You Can DIY Nevertheless, there are some telltale characteristics to look for when identifying Chippendale pieces. Woods Used in Chippendale Style Pieces The finest Chippendale style pieces were usually crafted from mahogany. Walnut, cherry and maple were used for less expensive furniture made in this style when it comes to period pieces. Later versions often incorporated many different types of woods, and generally have a dark finish to mimic older styles. Chippendale Style Legs In Antiques 101 by Frank Farmer Loomis IV, he shares that while Chippendale "appreciated the long-established Queen Anne style, he realized that innovative designs kept sales flourishing." Thus he took inspiration from the Chinese and incorporated design elements borrowed from that culture including the straight Marlborough leg typified in the back legs of the chair featured here.

Many Chippendale pieces have cabriole legs (like the curving front legs illustrated in the photo shown here). American cabinetmakers from Newport, Rhode Island often used classically styled reeded or fluted legs as well. Furniture makers in Philadelphia incorporated Rococo influences resulting in more elaborately carved legs. Some pieces, such as side chairs and small tables like the Pembroke style , have straight legs as mentioned above but other elements of Chippendale style are still present. Chippendale Style Feet American cabinetmakers often incorporated the ball-and-claw foot (like those shown in the photo here) into their Chippendale style designs. The ball-and-claw foot was already passé with English furniture craftsmen by the time Americans embraced the style, according to Schwartz. Other Chippendale Style Features While legs and feet often provide a good start when identifying Chippendale pieces, there are a number of other features to look for as well: Chippendale style settees, stools and chairs were many times upholstered with the finest of fabrics. Top railings on chairs frequently have a yoked shape (like that of the example shown here).

Back splats on arm and side chairs can be intricately pierced and carved with ribbon motifs, although some chairs do have less ornate splats. Shell motifs carrying over from the Queen Anne period may be present, but are not as prevalent in this style as they were earlier in the 1700s. Later Chippendale Styles Many reproductions of the Chippendale style were produced around 1900 during the late-Victorian period. While these are antiques in their own right today, in comparison they do not have the finely crafted details found in early Chippendale style pieces nor do they command the prices of true period furniture. Since most people can't afford the upper crust pieces, later examples do provide an antique alternative for those who like the style without the big budget for original period pieces. Chippendale influence is still widely found in formal furniture design and manufacturing including the use of cabriole legs and ball-and-claw feet. Some modern pieces completely copy older designs while others derive inspiration from this classic style. Be sure to get the opinion of an antique furniture expert if you're not sure what you have, especially if you're considering refinishing or altering the piece in any way.

Traditional Interior Design Chippendale Style Furniture - Furniture Arcade - House furniture, Living room furniture, Bedroom furniture, Home furniture Home › Designer Furniture › Traditional Interior Design Chippendale Style Furniture Traditional Interior Design Chippendale Style Furniture Posted on by Jake — No Comments ↓ Chippendale style furniture is one of the most popular and easily available furniture lines among traditional furniture designs. It was equally popular and the most sought after in England and America during 18th century. Thomas Chippendale, an 18th century British designer and cabinet maker made this style popular. In 1754, he published first ever furniture design catalog named ‘The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director.’ It was a detailed collection of his stylish and trendy English furniture designs. It was sold out instantly and Chippendale became well known throughout England and America. Thomas Chippendale had great social skills and keen business sense. He was aware of the benefits of advertising and good public relations. Though he was not accepted as a prominent member of society, he did exceptionally well in his profession. He hired 40-50 craftsmen and started his own workshop and production unit in partnership of a wealthy merchant called James Rannie.

His sound knowledge of woods and furniture designing attracted many wealthy clients whom he supplied custom made designer furniture. He also designed carpets, wallpapers, chimneys, fire grates, decorative pieces and sometime entire room designs. During 1760s he worked with the architect Robert Adam on several big projects. He was influenced by Robert Adam’s neoclassical style and replaced angular design of the Queen Anne style furniture with curves. Chippendale style furniture is made of hardwood like mahogany or oak. Other woods such as cherry or local cedar are also used. Softwoods like white pine are used to make main shell of furniture. Velvet, damask or brocade is used for upholstery. Chippendale furniture can be identified by its exquisite wood carving and rich furnishings with Gothic, English and Chinese motifs. It looks similar to Queen Anne style furniture, with a bit more elaborate and exquisite carving. The key element of Chippendale style furniture is the Queen Anne-style cabriole leg with three different types of feet. They are the ball and claw, the lion’s paw, and the club.

The lion’s paw foot look like a paw of a lion, the club is a simple round foot and the ball and the claw looks as if an eagle talon holding a ball. The other three types of feet are the spade, the Marlborough and the late Chippendale. The spade a tapered round leg with a trapezoid foot, the Marlborough is a plain, square leg, and the late Chippendale has a square leg with a square foot. Chippendale furniture comes with three types of influences namely Gothic, Chinese and French. Chippendale’s Gothic and Chinese influenced designs have straight or tapering legs. The Chinese Chippendale style furniture is famous for bedrooms. Its painted design imitating lacquer finish is extremely popular. Though Chippendale furniture is famous for its chairs available in a number of varieties, other furniture is also eye catching such as settees, camel back sofa, bookcases, china cabinets, desks, dining tables and chairs, mirrors etc. The Chippendale Society at Temple Newsam House, England has original collection of furniture and documents.

Traditional Style Interior Design Chippendale Bookcase Traditional Style Interior Design Chippendale Dining Table Traditional Style Interior Design Chippendale Armchair Traditional Style Interior Design Chippendale Armed Dining Chair Traditional Style Interior Design Chippendale Settee Traditional Style Interior Design Chippendale Bed Related posts Learning How to Date Antique Furniture By Pamela Wiggins Updated January 06, 2017. Looking at the joinery, or the way a piece of antique furniture is put together, will provide many clues that help in determining the age. But there are a number of other factors to consider as well, including the tools that were used to craft a piece and what the individual components look like. Examining these elements individually, as well as furniture pieces in their entirety, will help you learn to correctly date them. Examining Bottoms, Insides and Backs Looking at the bottom or back of a piece, or inside its doors and drawers, can provide important clues about whether or not a piece of old furniture was machine cut or crafted by hand. Most handmade pieces will show some irregularities to the surface such as minor nicks indicative of a hand plane being used to smooth out the wood, and this is sometimes even more evident on the back than on the finished front surfaces.

Most machine made pieces date after 1860, according to art historian Lori Verderame (also known as Dr. Lori) so if the piece you’re examining is perfectly finished without shallow cuts being evident, this clue points to it being made in the late 1800s or beyond. continue reading below our video 7 Places to Find Inspiration for Crafting Do All the Elements Match Exactly? Smaller “matching” elements, such as wooden drawer knobs, chair spindles, or feet on a variety of objects, may have slight differences in the shape if they were hand crafted prior to 1860 or so. Machine made furniture produced largely after 1860 will have components that match more perfectly than those made by hand. The reason? It’s almost impossible to make the same exact furniture element over and over identically without the use of machinery. What Types of Tools Were Used When the Piece was Constructed? When hand planes were used to smooth woods, they more often than not left some sort of uneven surface. As discussed above, this is especially evident on the back or underside of pieces made prior to the mid-1800s.

Cuts and nicks can also leave proof that hand chisels and other tools operated with elbow grease were used to shape woods. When circular saws were used, and this wasn’t prevalent until the mid-19th century, a circular pattern is usually present as evidence. Manually operated hand saws left a straighter pattern in comparison. That’s not to say wood crafters aren’t still making furniture by hand today, and they were doing so at the turn of the 20th century, too. Looking for other signs of age is also wise in addition to indicators of hand craftsmanship. Looking at Woods and Upholstery Fabrics Many people have trouble distinguishing different types of woods and finishes, so if you fall into this category don’t feel alone. But yes, different types of wood were used during different furniture periods and if you’re good at recognizing them this can prove to be another clue that helps determine the age of furniture. For instance, oak was used in furniture made prior to 1700. After 1700, mahogany and walnut were very popular. Moving into the 1800s, maple and cherry showed up in fine furniture manufacture quite often.

Many Victorian furniture manufacturers used mahogany and rosewood through the late 1800s. Then, around 1900, oak became very popular again. Can you circa date solely on the type of wood used? Absolutely not. But materials can be an indicator of age when they fits in with the overall style and age of other components that make up the furniture you’re trying to date. The same goes with upholstery if it’s original, and that’s a key factor. Silk, wool, and cotton have been spun and woven into a variety of damasks, satins, and brocades with many different patterns. Consult a book with a upholstery guide like American Furniture: Tables, Chairs, Sofas & Beds by Marvin D. Schwartz (now out of print, but available through used booksellers) for more clues about fabric designs used at different periods in furniture history. Looking for Old Screws and Other Hardware Screws weren’t made completely by machine until 1848, according an Antique Trader column by regular contributor Fred Taylor.

So if you find a furniture item using screws that have completely rounded shafts, pointed ends, and perfectly finished heads with matching cuts (much like a screw you would purchase today), the piece likely dates to the mid-19th century or later. Screws made from about 1812 through the mid-1800s were partially machine made giving the threading a more even appearance, according to Taylor. But the heads were still finished with hacksaws to add the groove to fit a screwdriver like those made even earlier, so no two are exactly alike. The first screws were crafted in the 1700s by blacksmiths using square nail stock that was heated and pounded until it was somewhat round. The tips were blunt in these oldest screws, and each one was unique. If you find these hand finished screws in furniture, investigate other aspects of the pieces to see if they match the screws in age. Other brass hardware can be an indicator of age as well. "Early 18th century hardware was cast from molten brass using molds made of sand," Taylor explains in his Antique Trader column.

"This type of hardware is easy to recognize because it often has 'inclusions' from the sand itself in the brass, either grains of sand or or odd colors from impurities. The backs of this type of hardware were often left with the impression of the sand while the surfaces were polished." Early 19th century brasses will also exhibit a rough texture, finish, and threading akin to the screws mentioned above while modern hardware will not. The presence of brass hardware at all also tells a tale. From the 1830s up until the Eastlake period in the 1880s, brass hardware fell out of favor in furniture manufacture and was sparsely used. If you have a piece with brasses, it's most likely pre-1830s or a revival piece from the late 1800s on. Determining the Style of a Piece The overall style – such as Chippendale , William and Mary , or Rococo Revival along with a host of others – can help you determine when a piece was made. Keep in mind, however, that some styles have been prolifically reproduced over the years, like both Chipppendale and Queen Anne among others.

It is very important to look for additional signs of age beyond your first glance at the style. As you examine the piece, sleuth for clues that support your initial theory that you have a piece of authentic period furniture . And, realize that those masterpieces are actually few and far between. More than likely, you will discover that you own a later revival piece although it's awfully fun to dream big when you begin your research.

Question: What wood was traditionally used to make Chippendale furniture?
Answer: MAHOGANY